Masarykova univerzita

Pedagogická fakulta

Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury

Portrayal of women in Arthurian legends

Bachelor thesis Brno, 2012

Supervisor: Author:

Mgr. Jarolslav Izavčuk Petr Crhonek

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Prohlášení

Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou bakalářskou vypracoval samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. Souhlasím, aby tato práce byla použitá jako zdroj studijních materiálů.

Blansko, 23.září 2012

Petr Crhonek ………………………………………

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Annotation

This bachelor thesis is aimed at women characters that can be met when reading Sir Thomas Malory’s L’Morte d’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight from an unknown author. The thesis is to describe the characters, analyse them and compare to real women that were important throughout the history. In the end of this thesis there are interviews that were carried out by the author during his stay in England in the town of Barnstaple, Devon and pictures taken by the author that are to show some famous and interesting places connected to the legends of King Arthur.

Key words

King Arthur, women in Arthurian legends, Different roles of women, social status of women, women’s activities, crisis of masculinity, women as warriors, women as ladies-in-waiting, Morte d’Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank to Mgr. Jaroslav Izavčuk for supervising this thesis and his useful guidance. I appreciate his knowledge of literature. I am grateful to those that were interviewed during my stay in England since interviewing people in England is probably the best way how to get to know English culture, history and literature from their point of view.

4 Content

Content ...... 5 Introduction ...... 7 1. What are Arthurian legends? ...... 8 1.1. Reference to historical facts ...... 9 2. General ideas about the women characters ...... 12 3. Women characters in detail ...... 13 3.1. One of the strongest women character – Nineve ...... 13 3.2. The role of Arthur’s mother ...... 14 3.3. How is Guinevere depicted in Malory’s book? ...... 15 3.4. The analyses of Guinevere ...... 18 3.5. Incest as a part of medieval sexual life ...... 21 3.6. A woman offering a sword to Arthur ...... 22 3.7. A lady saved by Lancelot ...... 23 3.8. Another lady in danger ...... 23 3.9. The power of love – Tristram and Isolde ...... 24 3.10. How can we understand this story? ...... 26 3.11. A sorceress visiting Wales ...... 29 3.12. Arthur’s enemy ...... 30 3.13. How powerful Morgan was in comparison to real characters ...... 31 3.14. Lancelot saving ladies ...... 33 3.15. Bringing of Galahad to the court of Arthur ...... 33 3.16. A lady from quest for the Holy Grail ...... 34 3.17. Lancelot as an idol ...... 35 3.18. The burial of Elaine ...... 36 4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ...... 37 4.1. General information about the poem ...... 37 4.2. Lady Bertilak’s main role – to seduce Lancelot ...... 38 4.3. Lady Bertilak’s ability to control other people ...... 41 4.4. Conclusion ...... 42 5. Author’s own experience ...... 43 5.1. The places the author visited ...... 43 5.2. The interviews ...... 44 5.3. Author’s experience from a summer school in Slovenia ...... 46

5 6. The life of women in the middle Ages with references to Arthurian legends ...... 48 7. Conclusion ...... 52 8. Summary ...... 54 9. Resumé ...... 55 10. List of References ...... 56 11. Appendix ...... 59

6 Introduction

This thesis is aimed at Arthurian legends. These legends told us a story of King Arthur and his knights that were protecting their homeland against their enemies. And that is why King Arthur is considered to be something like a symbol or even hero for the British. In this thesis the author will focus on women characters because women play important roles in the legends and they should not be forgotten. In the first part the legends in general and some historical facts will be described because it is necessary to mention that some parts of the legends can be based on real historical figures or places. The second part will tell us something about the women characters in general as an introduction for the third part and fourth part that are aimed at analysing and describing the characters. For the purposes of this thesis the author used the following books: Le Morte d’Arthur written by Thomas Malory and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight a poem the author of which remains unknown. The third part of the thesis will focus on Malory’s book, meanwhile the fourth part of the poem. The author’s own experience is the topic for the fifth part since the author visited several places in the Great Britain connected to the legends and managed to talk to the local people about the legends and their opinions. There is a description in the last part about the real life of women in the middle Ages based on real historical evidences to give a description of the reality. Since this thesis is aimed at women characters there are several questions. The questions are: what roles did women play? Were these roles important? And how did relationships between men and women look like? The author will try to answer these questions in the conclusion. The questions are important because the book tells us a story of knights and women. By studying the relationships between them we can understand their mentality and behaviour.

7 1. What are Arthurian legends?

Legends of King Arthur are considered to be the national literature of Britain. They are well-known amongst the British, although we cannot be sure whether they are based on historical facts or not. There are certain historical facts and even buildings (for example the castle of Tintagel) connected with the legends, but scholars and historians still doubt. Why do they doubt? There are no reliable chronicles speaking about King Arthur. All we know is based mainly on one book – History of the Kings of Britain written by Geoffrey of Monmouth between 1135 and 1150. It is said to be a chronicle. There are other sources as well: Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – a poem written by an unknown author. These sources are of English origin, but there are non-English sources, for example Welsh: Goddodin (an elegy from the 6th or 9th century), French (Chrétien de Troyes’ Le Chevalier de la charrette, ou, Le roman de Lancelot; Le conte du grail, ou, Le roman de Perceval or Erec et Enide) or Latin (De Excidio Britanniae by Gildas) (Cox; Oxbrow, 2009). Except literary sources, there are many historical sites and archaeological excavations that originates both before the supposed reign of Arthur and after this period of time (supposed reign of King Arthur can be defined as a period of time in the history of the British isles dating between the 4th and 8th century. Some of the authors interested in Arthur give us specific dates. For example Annales Cambriae from the 10th century tells us about the year 518 in which the battle of Badon took place (Dunning, R. 2010). Legend of St. Goeznovius from 1019 tells us that Arthur was fighting both in Britain and Gaul in the 460’s. However the only thing we know about the author is that his name was William (Dunning, R. 2010). ). But now let us return back to the historical sites and excavations. Which sites were built before the supposed reign of Arthur? Both Stonehenge and the castle of Tintagel were built before this period of time, although Tintagel of that time was not a real castle but an important stronghold (Batey, C.E. 2010). And now let us mention some of the newer sights. There are many books (Le Morte d’Arthur), chronicles (Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain) and even poems (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). Since people during the

8 medieval times and modern times were interested in those legends, churches, cathedrals and castles built in the medieval times were decorated with mosaics and paintings dealing with Arthurian legends (a floor mosaic in Otranto Cathedral, Italy; The Round Table in the town of Winchester; a miniature in The Coronation of Arthur from 1230-1250 (Dunning, 2010)).

1.1. Reference to historical facts

When reading Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur the reader meets some historical facts. However, these facts are easy to find. The names Malory uses still exist (Stonehenge, Tintagel and Winchester). Stonehenge – a well-known monument founded more than four thousand years ago (Richards, 2007). It is situated on Salisbury Plain near London. Malory describes Stonehenge as a place where the kings of England were always getting married. It means that Stonehenge is a sacred place for special ceremonies. On contrast to this fact Arthur and Guinevere married in a church and that is a Christian ceremony. What does it mean? The marriage of Uther was pagan; meanwhile the Arthur’s wedding was Christian. The city of Winchester is said to be the place where Camelot stood. It was the place from which both Uther and Arthur ruled England (White, 2005). Nowadays, when one arrives at Tintagel, they will visit ruins of a castle. The castle was built in 13th century however there are remains of an earlier stronghold that dates from fifth to seventh centuries (Batey, 2010). At this stronghold Arthur was born, according to Malory. In the book we can read not only about places, but about weapons or artefacts. We know what they are. Unfortunately we do not know whether they are real or not. What is it? It is the Spear of Destiny and the Holy Grail. Let me begin with the first one. The Spear of Destiny, sometimes called the Spear of Longinus, is the lance Jesus was pierced by. Longinus, a Roman soldier, did so when Jesus was dying on the cross. Saint John in his gospel says that as soon as the lance penetrated Jesus’ body blood and water started to run out of his body. This can be considered as a fact. However there is something mystical about this lance. Some religious groups believe that the Spear is very powerful and the man who owns the Spear will rule all the nations of our planet. It is probably a myth. But the fact is

9 that many people including Adolf Hitler, who was obsessed with everything mystical, were trying to find it (Ravenscroft, 2003). The Spear is mentioned in Le Morte d’Arthur when Sir Balin and Sir Pellam were fighting in Pellam’s castle. Balin found the Spear in a chamber took it and attacked Pellam. As he attack Pellam fell on the ground and the castle tumbled down (Malory, 1969). Nevertheless this is not the only artefact mentioned in the book. The other one is the Holy Grail. The Grail was probably used for curing ill and wounded people because Malory says that Pellam can be cured only with the help of the Holy Grail. Why is the Holy Grail so mighty? Since Joseph of Arimathea caught Jesus’ blood during the Crucifixion and brought the Grail to England (Cox; Oxbrow, 2009). One part of the legend of King Arthur is dedicated to the Holy Grail and is called “The Adventure of the Holy Grail”. It describes the quest for the Grail. It is to test the knights since the way is not easy because of fighting and loneliness. But finally the Grail was found by Sir Galahad (Malory, 1969). Ceremonies such as wedding are connected with history as well because they give us information not only about the tradition and habits but about religion as well. Arthur marries Guinevere in a church in the town of Winchester. During their wedding the bells of the church were ringing and a golden cross was carried before the procession. At the end they kissed the cross for five times which was to symbolize the five wounds of Jesus (Malory, 1969). This wedding can be considered as a nice example of a Christian wedding because bells ringing, the cross and five wounds of Jesus are typical examples of Christianity (Lurker, 1999). When speaking about religion it is necessary to say that Christianity is not the only religion mentioned in the legends because the legends talk about paganism as well. Let me give you some examples. When the Lady of the Lake died she was buried on a flank of a hill in a white tomb. The tomb was decorated with carvings of flowing water. This does not seem to be a Christian burial because Christians buries dead people on cemeteries and there are no carvings of flowing water on Christian tombstones. The burial of Lady of the Lake seems to be pagan or even Celtic because the Celts considered some gods to be present in the water, for example Manannán Mac Lir the Celtic god of the sea that originates in Wales or Brigit the Celtic goddess of rivers and springs (Vlčková, 2002) .

10 It follows that the legends are based both on a new religion – Christianity which was spreading into the Britain in that time – and paganism that was still present. It is a combination of these two religions. We can assume that paganism was embedded in the society of this period that Christianity and paganism combine one another – burial of the Lady of the Lake was pagan meanwhile the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere was Christian.

11 2. General ideas about the women characters

In the book there are many women characters as well as male characters. Women are portrayed as queens, servants or even witches. The book tells us a story of knights fighting for the honour of their kings and of themselves as well. On one hand they are taking part in tournaments, but on the other hand they are accompanied by women, entertaining them and having love affairs with them. Women plays many roles in the book, they are queens, servants and witches. But there is one important thing: if they are married they have to obey the wishes of their husband without any resistance. It can mean that marriage represented a very strong tie between a man and his wife and that wives respected their husbands very much. The reason why women were respecting their husbands can be that women were weaker than men and their relied on them. But men respected their wives, too. Sometimes women were giving advices to their husbands, for example when Igraine insists on going home when she and her husband paid a visit to Uther Pendragon. This is not the only thing men are doing. They are fighting for the honour of women as well. Tristram, for example, is fighting for Isolde because he loves her. Lancelot du Lake is famous for fighting for women. He represents a real knight and has the chivalric qualities. He fights for Guinevere in spite of the fact that she is married. The reason why he fights for her is his love towards Guinevere. As we can see love is not only a very strong emotion, but a very strong motivation. Some of the women are very powerful, though. Nineve, a witch, is an independent woman that pretends to be in love with Merlin. He trusted her, but she just abused him. He teaches her some if his spells and when she is strong enough she imprisons his in a cave in France. As nobody can help him, he dies. When dying he realizes what he has happened – Nineve wanted him to teach her in order to become a powerful witch. She will be described and analyzed later. Women were not directly involved in politics because when important political meetings were held, for example meeting at Canterbury and pulling out the sword, there were just knights and members of aristocracy such as barons, but no women.

12 3. Women characters in detail

3.1. One of the strongest women character – Nineve

The reason why Nineve was chosen to be analyzed is that she has qualities of an independent and educated woman that wants to take care of herself. She probably does not want to depend on men. Unfortunately, some of her qualities are negative. These qualities are: selfishness, ungratefulness and abusing men with the assistance of her appearance. She was a young girl who wanted to be a good witch. She pretended to be in love with Merlin. As he trusted her, he taught her some of his mighty spells. He taught her, for example, how to speak with animals or how to calm a storm (there is a reference to Celts because their religion was closely connected to the nature) (Vlčková, 2002). When she got to know everything she wanted, she buried Merlin alive in a cave using his own spells. Why she did so? He was not profitable for her any more. Later on, she became the new Lady of the Lake. Why? She was pow erful and wise. It shows us that working hard; being wise and educated can be used in order to be given a certain social status or job. Even women can reach such a high position, not only men – although the current situation is slightly different because some companies prefer men to women to be in the highest positions. Why is Nineve important for us? In the present times women want to be independent, educated and want to rely on themselves. Nineve was both educated and independent. Her desire for education can serve as an example for today’s women because it shows us that education is very important and can help with when looking for a job. It can help today’s women to understand that it is better to attend a university than marry a rich man and rely on his money. On the other hand people should understand that we cannot be abusing other people because later we will not be enjoying a good reputation. So Nineve is both good and bad example.

13 3.2. The role of Arthur’s mother

She was the wife of the Duke of Tintagel, who died in war against Uther Pendragon who loved Igraine as well. And that is why Uther decided to find Merlin who helped him. Merlin, using his magic, transformed Uther into the Duke. Uther came to Tintagel to visit Igraine. She considered him to be her husband and had a sex with him. When Uther left she found out that her husband died. But after few months she married Uther and conceived a child that was named Arthur. What was she like? Igraine was said to be a beautiful and wise woman that could read the secrets of a man’s heart when looking at him. Her wisdom may be the reason why her husband did what she wanted when visiting Uther. Igraine wanted to leave because Uther told her he wanted to lie with her and she felt upset. Her husband, after hearing what occurred between his wife and Uther, obeyed her advice to leave. The reason why Uther married Igraine was his love for her, but the barons of the kingdom had another reason. Their reason was rather political – they were convinced that the marriage would bring peace and prosperity to the whole kingdom. After the marriage, family relationships changed. Igraine, in defiance of being pregnant, became a mother of three stepdaughters – Morgause, Elaine and Morgan le Fay. But Uther had different plans than family life. He had his daughters married. Morgause married King Lot of Lowthean and Orkney. They had a son called Gawain. Elaine wedded King Nentres of the land of Garlot and finally Morgan was sent to a school in which she was learning secret arts. King Uriens of the land of Gore married Morgan and she conceived Uwain, later known as Sir Uwain of the White Hands. The situation described above suggests that some women could not choose their husbands on their own because they were daughters of a politician – here the King of England. Uther’s opinion on marriage is rather ambiguous since he married Igraine because of love but on the other hand he had his own daughters married because of the politics because he chose the husbands, not his daughters. This is called marriage of convenience. It means that the marriages of Uther’s daughters were more important for Uther than his daughters themselves. He was probably thinking more of himself than of his daughters.

14 Let us go back to Igraine. Uther confessed that it was him who visited her that night at Tintagel. He told her that he and Merlin made an agreement – as soon as the child is born, it will be given to Merlin and he will take care of the baby. Igraine agreed – that suggests that a woman married to a powerful man was following his wishes if these were meaningful. Such a woman probably had a strong sense for responsibility and fulfilling the promises. Here we can see that men were masters of their wives in questions of politics and keeping their promises. In such a case women were probably not equal to their husbands. Little Arthur was nurtured by a strange woman and when wanted to know the truth about his family Sir Ulfius told him his mother was a traitor, but Arthur defended her. Arthur’s behaviour indicates that maternal affection was very strong although Arthur was not nurtured by her. Although she was insulted she refused to fight because she was a woman. There is a distinction between the roles of men and women – there was a certain activity which women were not allowed to take part in and it was fighting. It was only a men’s job. At the end Arthur held a celebration for his mother – another evidence of his love for his mother.

3.3. How is Guinevere depicted in Malory’s book?

Guinevere was a daughter of King Lodegreaunce. Arthur fell in love with her but Merlin warned him that one day she would became a lover of Lancelot. Arthur wanted to marry her not only because he loved her but also because his barons were forcing him to have a wife. They thought that the king should be accompanied by a queen. Their wedding was a Christian one as mentioned above in the chapter called “Reference to the historical facts”. Despite of the fact that they knew each other for some time and what is more they were married they were addressing one another “Sir” and “Madam” – in a very polite way. This happened before the battle with the five kings into which he wanted to take her with. Guinevere welcomes Galahad when he arrives at the Round Table as the first. Arthur is the second to greet him. Guinevere was pleased to have such a knight on her court. Later, Guinevere when talking to Galahad was interested who his father was.

15 After the quest for the Holy Grail was over all the knights returned back to Camelot, including Lancelot that began to date Guinevere although he made a promise that he would not. Lancelot was a clever man – he was meeting other ladies since he wanted to make other people believe he is not dating Guinevere who did not agreed with that and had a quarrel with him which resulted in Lancelot’s leaving the court for some time. Interestingly Guinevere arranged a meeting with other knights in order to prove that she was not in love with Lancelot. During that event Guinevere was accused of poisoning the fruit and was to be burnt at a stake. Arthur was a judge so he cannot fight for her and had to agree with the combat. Another knight was to be found and that was Lancelot. When she was afraid of being burnt she decided to forgive Lancelot that really came and saved her. After the combat was won by Lancelot the Lady of the Lake visited Arthur and told him that the culprit that poisoned the fruit is Sir Pionell not Guinevere. When Arthur decided to hold a tournament at Camelot, Guinevere, as well as Lancelot, wanted to stay in London. Arthur left although he was angry. There were gossips that Guinevere and Lancelot stayed because they wanted to be together. It is partly true because Lancelot visited Guinevere and told her that he would be ruled by her words but she told him that he would dishonour her and on the next day Lancelot departed. During the spring, in May, Guinevere ordered her knights to prepare for a ride into the countryside. Each of them would be accompanied by a woman. It was May the time for love. But she had nobody to be with her on this journey except one knight called Sir Meliagaunt that wanted to kidnap her and take her to his castle because she had loved her form many years secretly. However Guinevere was quick-witted and sent a page with a message to Lancelot who rescued all of them. Meliagaunt was so afraid of Lancelot that he decided to surrender to Guinevere. She agreed since she wanted to be a queen of the peace. Later Meliagaunt clashed with Lancelot and died. People talked about Guinevere’s adultery but no one dared to tell Arthur about it. No one except Sir Agravain that also suggested setting a trap – he and his knights would surprise Lancelot and Guinevere. Arthur agreed and sent Guinevere a message that during the night he would not be at home. The plan worked. Lancelot was with Guinevere in her chambers when Sir Agravain, Sir Mordred and their knights tried to catch them. But they were able to overcome Lancelot’s strength. Only Sir Mordred survived the battle. The other including Sir Agravain were killed. When the clash was

16 over Lancelot and Guinevere exchanged their rings and Lancelot left with his knights. On his journey Lancelot listened to advice of his knights that advised him to rescue the queen and hide her in his castle. Meanwhile Arthur realized he had no other possibility but had Guinevere burnt at the stake. Arthur ordered Sir Gawain to take Guinevere to the stake but he refused since he was convinced that this kind of punishment humiliating for her. One knight told Lancelot about the punishment and Lancelot with his knights attacked Arthur. Many knights died and Arthur and Lancelot became enemies. Before rescuing Guinevere Lancelot gave her a gown and girdle so that she could dress herself better. Then they departed for Joyous Garde, Lancelot’s castle in which they were hiding. What was Arthur’s reaction? Arthur felt sorry his knights that died more than for his queen. He even said that queens can be replaced but knights cannot because it was very difficult to find such people that would be so strong and loyal to him. There was a great battle the result of which was indecisive. And that is why Arthur decided to call for the Bishop of Rochester that came and persuaded Lancelot to bring Guinevere back to the Arthur’s court. Lancelot did so and the departed for ever. When Arthur summoned his army and was ready to go to France in order to find Lancelot and fight with him he authorized Mordred to govern the country since he was his son that was conceived with Arthur’s half-sister. But Mordred had different plans. He forced the aristocracy to crown him the king and proposed marriage to Guinevere that was his stepmother. Guinevere pretended to agree and travelled to London where she wanted to defend herself against him. The Tower of London was on her command turned into a fortress. After the death of Arthur Guinevere immediately went to an abbey and became a nun, later promoted to an abbess. People wondered why she did so. When seeing Lancelot again she admitted that their love started the war and is responsible for Arthur’s death. When she died she was buried in the same tomb as Arthur by Lanclelot that time a hermit. He died later.

17 3.4. The analyses of Guinevere

If a husband is addressing his wife “Madam” and she is addressing her husband “Sir” it means that these people respect each other very much because this way of addressing is used mainly in the higher society amongst the people with high social status that are respected by the others. These people are well-educated and it is obvious that they know how to behave properly and that is why they were considered to be the bearer of the most cultivated manners. Later the diplomats, mainly British and French, adopted this role (Špaček, 2005). Why would Arthur take Guinevere to the battle? This is not unusual. Throughout the history of our civilization women were involved in many wars – as warriors or even leaders. If they were warriors they wanted to fight for their homes and defend their children. Women were military leaders because they were queens of certain countries and had their own armies. Cleopatra VII of Egypt is a good example. She was a good politician since she made decisions dealing with her country herself and was not afraid of wars. She took her naval forces, joined Mark Anthony and fought against Octavian in the battle of Actium in spite of the fact that Mark Anthony’s and her army was smaller than the army of Octavian’s. She was defeated but proved that women can be military leaders with enough courage to fight (Grant, 2011). Boudicca, the ruler of the Iceni tribe even led a rebellion against the Roman Empire. The reason why she attacked the Romans was that she claimed the throne after her husband’s death and did not want this kingdom to be a Roman colony. Unfortunately, the Romans defeated her army (Falkus, Gillingham, 1987). Probably the most important female ruler ever was Queen Victoria whose reign lasted for 63 years. The British Empire during her reign expanded, there were many successes in science, industry was developing and culture was on a high level. Nowadays the people consider her reign and this era to be successful. Welcoming a newcomer in an official way is very similar nowadays. The man who escorted Galahad to the court of King Arthur first spoke to Arthur but on the other hand the first person to officially welcome Galahad was Guinevere. She did so since she was the host and this person is the first to greet the newcomers and guests (Špaček, 2005). What we can experience today? During official meeting, for example when the president visits other countries officially, he is welcomed both by the

18 president of the host country and his wife. The presidents are first to greet one another and then their wives. It seems that this kind of behaviour appeared in those times, remained in existence during the middle Ages and still exists nowadays. It is a tradition. From this example we can conclude that women represented their husbands since they were welcoming guests. Another common manner – women are talking about relationships and families. This kind of discussion can be compared to the way of life during the Victorian era – when reading a Victorian novel (for example “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen) we find out that the characters in such a novel are talking about relationships, especially marriages, since the female characters are visiting balls in order to find a husband. They are interested in other people’s marriages and relationship as well. It is obvious that Guinevere wanted her lover only for herself and one cannot wonder that she was angry with him. Maybe she was a bit jealous despite of the fact that she was married. We cannot wonder why Lancelot left the court since it happens that a man after such a quarrel leaves his girlfriend. And what does the girlfriend do? She meets and other men. Now it is quite common. One can experience that a girl after an argument with her boyfriend goes to a club and wants to get to know new men. It is probably on purpose because she wants her boyfriend to be jealous and to come back to her. It is the same in marriage – husband and wife are doing bad things on purpose because they still love each other. There are some examples from real life: when one partner is cheating on the other the other partner wants to do the same, or they can be humiliating and blaming each other. The results are destructive in both cases (Myslikovjanová, 2011). Guinevere regretted that she had an argument with him when she was accused of poisoning the fruit in order to kill the knights having a dinner with her. It can be supposed that she was accused of that because everybody knew that she had a love affair with Lancelot. The reason why they accused her of doing so could be that they consider this as betray. They loved and respected their king. She realized that the only knight that can defeat her opponent was Lancelot. He was informed by one of his friends and came to save her. Process of judging can be seen in the book. The accused person, in our case a woman, can do practically nothing except waiting and choosing someone that would fight for her honour. So it suggests that not only fighting bit judicial proceeding too

19 was a matter of men. On the other hand there was the Lady of the Lake that arrived and told the truth because the Lady of the Lake was always a friend of King Arthur. People always start gossiping about other people’s relationship. They like it. But there is something more important – Lancelot told Guinevere he would be ruled by her words. Here we can see the importance of a woman. For some men it would be difficult to say something similar since they would not respect women in such a strong way but Guinevere’s authority is different. She understands her role and she knows she is a wife of a mighty king. What should be emphasized here is the fact that she is not abusing her authority. Today when speaking about this character we should say that she is influential but wise since she knows how to use her authority. We can read in the book that the spring, especially May, is the time for love since love as well as plants blossom in this period. This opinion survived and still exists in the present because now we can that May is the month of love and on the 1st May lovers use to kiss one another under the cherry tree. People in those times probably realized that love flourishes in spring since everything else flourishes or blossoms. Similarly Karel Hynek Mácha, a Czech romantic poet, wrote a poem called “Máj” the story of which takes place in May. Guinevere said she was a queen of the peace. This statement confirms the assertion that women themselves (when speaking in general) did not want to fight and did not want to be anyhow involved in fighting. It is interesting that Arthur did not want to know about Guinevere’s adultery. He must have loved her so much. But when speaking about the law he had to follow the law – he had no other possibility but let her burn at the stake. But in the end she was not burnt as Arthur made an agreement with Lancelot. We can conclude that he had a strong sense for responsibility and that the law and his country were probably the most two important things for him. We can see that a ruler is thinking a bit differently – he has to be an example for the others – if the ruler wants the people to follow the rules he has to follow the rules as well regardless of it is good for him or bad. For example the first president of Czechoslovakia, Thomas Garrigue Masaryk, followed the rules even if it was disadvantageous for him since he wanted to be an example for the other people. It was during so called “the Hilsner Affair” although he was not the president yet he said the he should have been sued as a common citizen not as a Jude. Masaryk desired for the truth and he fought against superstitions as well. And he was successful – Hilsner was treated as a common citizen. (Černý, 1999)

20 Mordred – the son Arthur conceived with his own half-sister. We call it incest but according to the Penal Code of the Czech Republic it should be called coitus between family members and close relatives. Our Penal Code does not distinguish between full biological siblings and half-siblings. Both of them are treated in the same way. There is another point of view – genetic – that says that children from these sexual intercourses may suffer from various illnesses since their gene pool is damaged. The Hapsburgs are probably the most famous example. We will deal with this problem later on. Women in those times were not fighting but interestingly it can be seen that Guinevere turned the Tower of London into a fortress. How the reader shall understand that? The teachers could interpret it as Guinevere’s attempt to save her own live and to defend her values. However, she was lucky since she had an opportunity to refuse him – even nowadays in some countries especially in India there are so called arranged marriages. Young men and women involved in such a kind of marriage cannot choose who they will marry because it is arranged by their parents that choose the partner for them. The problem is that such a person does not have full personal freedom. The teachers can say that women are free to choose their husbands. Today it is almost unbelievable for a woman to become a nun after her husband’s death. It is quite common that people in such cases marry again. This deed reflects Guinevere’s strong sense for morality. She felt responsible for his death and wanted to spend the rest of her life in prayers for him. It requires courage to admit such a thing. Guinevere was buried next to her husband – this can be considered as a habit, since people tend to bury their relatives into the same tomb.

3.5. Incest as a part of medieval sexual life

Morgause was sent by her husband King Lot of Orkney to pay homage to Arthur because King Lot wanted to show he believed Arthur. As she was a pretty woman Arthur fell in love with her although she was his half-sister. He made love to her and she got pregnant. Their child was given the name Mordred. Interestingly, Arthur did not know that Morgause was his relative. How can we understand Morgause? Again, she respected her husband and that is why she went to visit Arthur. This kind of communication was probably more

21 personal than sending a letter or envoy. At first King Lot, that is to say, doubted whether to be loyal to Arthur or not. That can be the reason why he sent his wife. Arthur and his half-sister were making love. Today it would be considered as a sin or even crime but in those times this kind of sex was probably recognised as something natural. It seems to be pagan because Christianity refuses making love to relatives. And except sex there is their baby. It is possible that Arthur wanted to have an heir because every king or queen is thinking of their heir. Why? They do not want their kingdom to be ruled by someone strange from different dynasty. This policy is common amongst the kings. It can be compared to Maria Theresa and her father Charles VI. Charles VI did not know if he would have a male heir and therefore he issued Pragmatic Sanction in 1713, a document which was to allow female heirs to reign over the Archduchy of Austria because the tradition was to pass the throne to male heirs (Janusová, Káňa, 1987).

3.6. A woman offering a sword to Arthur

Arthur first saw the Lady of the Lake when she was sailing on a lake where his sword was and attired in a black cape with a hood. She offered him a sword. The sword was in the lake and was held by an arm covered in white cloth. Merlin told him she the Lady lived in a palace which lies in a cavern. One can assume that she was a mystical person not only because of the situation of her home but also because of her name – we do not know her name. All we know she is called The Lady of the Lake. When they met, Arthur was the first one to be greeted. It is a habit that a person of less importance greets as first and the person of greater importance replies. This tradition survives until present times – there are situations in which women are not the first ones to be greeted, for example when a woman is to talk to a president or the Prime Minister (Filipová, 2008). Women had got nothing to do with fighting. On the contrary the Lady of the Lake possessed a sword that she wanted to give to Arthur. But not for free. She wanted Arthur to do something for her in return. However she did not say what exactly she wanted. Were women thinking for the future? Yes, they were. As she did not mention what she wanted she could think about it later when she most needed it.

22 That is craftiness – women were manipulating men although they were not directly involved in their matters.

3.7. A lady saved by Lancelot

On his journey, Lancelot met a woman that asked him to save her falcon because she lost her. She was afraid of her husband since he would probably kill her because of the lost falcon. The reason why Lancelot agreed was simple – she knew his name. But after rescuing the falcon he saw Sir Phelot. It was a trap – the lady was doing what her husband ordered her to do. Sir Phelot wanted to fight against unarmed Lancelot. As Lancelot is a very strong knight he killed Sir Phelot. The lady cried that he killed her husband. After that Lancelot left this place quickly. What we can see here? A woman is fulfilling the orders and wishes of her husband without any doubts. The woman has no interest in these orders. It seams that husbands were more important than their wives and that women had a strong sense for responsibility and that their respected their husbands more than anyone else. Why they were behaving in such a way? Even today men are considered to be the main breadwinners and women want them to financially support their families. This lady, probably, relied on her husband in a similar way. She lived with him and he was taking care of her. This can serve us as an explanation for her crying – she lost the person she relied on.

3.8. Another lady in danger

As Lancelot is a real knight he is protecting women. When he saw a knight, called Sir Pedivere, who wanted to execute a lady he immediately jumped between them and asked what was happening. Sir Pedivere wanted to kill his own wife just because he thought she betrayed him and he blamed her for loving her cousin, Germaine. The lady begs Lancelot for rescuing her. But when they were riding on horses together Sir Pedivere suddenly cut off his wife’s head. Lancelot considered this deed as a shame and treachery. And that is why Lancelot decided to fight. But Sir

23 Pedivere did not want to fight because he knew it was almost impossible to win. Lancelot had another idea – he ordered him to carry the body and head of the dead lady and bring it to the court of Lady Guinevere. Sir Pedivere had to agree and set off for his journey. When he arrived at the court of Lady Guinevere, Guinevere personally told thim to travel to Rome and ask the pope to forgive him. Sir Pedivere ride on his horse to Rome where he asked the pope’s pardon. The pope forgave him and Sir Pedivere buried his wife in Rome and became a hermit. This short story is interesting not only because of the deed of Sir Pedivere, but also because of the Guinevere’s decision. According to the text we can say that Guinevere was a religious woman who cherished the pope. As mentioned at the beginning both paganism and Christianity are mentioned in the book. The pope was respected in the British Isles although Christianity was not fully accepted by the inhabitants of this country. The rulers were the first to accept Christianity so that they can be an example for their subjects. The Medieval Lithuania represents a good example of such a practice. In this country, the common people were baptised after their rulers were baptised. Lithuania became a Christian country in 1386 (Švec, 2001). We can conclude that this practice (the rulers being baptised as the first) was used during the whole period of the Medieval Times. Secondly, the pope served as an authority for the Christians even in the beginnings of Christianity. Today Roman Catholics trust and love the pope regardless of his past. Current pope, Benedict XVI., is beloved although he was a member of the Hitlerjugend organization. Actually he was forced to be a member of this organization, but it is a bit controversial anyway (www.novinky.cz)1.

3.9. The power of love – Tristram and Isolde

Her full name was La Belle Isolde and she was a daughter of King Angwish from Ireland. People considered her to be the fairest woman of this age. Men were falling in love with her, for example Tristram and Sir Palomides that wanted to be baptised just because of her. One of her activities we can read about is being a doctor or we should say a healer – she healed wounded Tristram when he first landed on the coast of Ireland after killing Marhalt. Although being a healer she persuades weak

1 http://tema.novinky.cz/benedikt-xvi

24 Tristram to take part in a tournament at which Sir Palomides would be present as well. Tristram reacts: “As you will. I am yours to command” (Malory, 1962). When Tristram defeated Sir Palomides Isolde became happy and pleased. Tristram forced Sir Palomides to swear that he would never try to seduce Isolde. When Trsitram was ready to leave, Isolde told him she would not marry for next seven years without his assent. Or she would marry only if he chose her husband himself. Then they exchanged rings. Interestingly though, Tristram when returned back to Cornwall he fell in love with Earl Segwarides’ wife. She loved him, too. But King Mark, his uncle, loved her as well and he was very jealous. Tristram decided to visit her although he was wounded by King Mark. They made love regardless of his wounds. So he betrayed Isolde. When he travelled to Ireland for the second time he asked King Angwish if King Mark could marry Isolde. King Angwish agreed but was surprised that it was not Tristram that wanted to marry her. Isolde’s mother gave the servants a potion and ordered them to ensure that King Mark and Isolde drank it. It was a love potion. After drinking this they would love each other. Unfortunately, the potion was not drunk by King Mark and Isolde but by Tristram and Isolde. When they arrived to Cornwall they were put in prison by Brewnour. That knight keeps two traditions – the first one is that every knight that arrives at his castle has to fight with him and the second one is rather unusual – if the new coming knight is accompanied by a woman that is not as beautiful as Brewnour’s wife, the new coming lady will loose her head. Isolde won this weird competition and Brewnour’s wife was beheaded by Tristram. Then they went on to King Mark’s court and after their arrival Isolde became the wife of King Mark despite of the fact that she still loved Tristram. When Isolde is kidnapped by Sir Palomides Tristram decides to rescue her. It considered it as his duty. In the middle of the battle between Tristram and Sir Palomides, Isolde jumped in front of them and begged Tristram to stop fighting because Sir Palomides is a Saracen and has not been baptised yet. Tristram obeyed her. Tristram and Isolde were caught sleeping in her bed. Tristram was called a traitor and tied down. Isolde was taken to a house of lepers. Tristram firstly rescued himself and then, with the help of his friends, Isolde and he hid her in a house in a forest.

25 Later on when Tristram is wounded, Isolde sends him to a lady called Isolde of the White Hands since she is the only person that can cure him. This Isolde learnt her knowledge from a priestess that used to believe in pagan goddesses. But her father, King Howell, offered Tristram to marry his daughter. And Tristram agreed. During the night when they were lying in a bed Tristram did not want her to loose her virginity with him. Although Queen Isolde was upset she invited him and his wife to Cornwall but Tristram refused since he wanted to undertake a secret journey to Cornwall. After rescuing King Arthur Tristram arrived to Cornwall and met Isolde. She was not angry with him any more because he visited Isolde in her private chambers. But few days later they argued since Tristram found in her chambers letters of love from Sir Kehadius, the brother of Isolde of the White Hands. Tristram was outraged. He lost his mind. After several months King Mark found him in the wood and took him back to the castle of Tintagel. Isolde was so happy. Again, she was worried about him because King Mark wanted him to die but he just expelled him from his lands. Years passed and Isolde decided to run away. On her way she found Joyous Garde, the castle of Lancelot. Tristram found her on this place.

3.10. How can we understand this story?

Isolde as a woman in love promised Tristram that she would not cheat on him. But Tristram broke this promise. He fell in love with another woman. What does it mean? It can mean that women valued love very much but men, on the other hand, were not so obsessed with love. They probably cared more about passion and sex rather than love and marriage. At least Tristram behaved so. We can say that he was young, strong and attractive but he broke his promise which is not corresponding with the code of chivalry. This can be seen nowadays – strong and young men attract attention of women (married or single) and these women then are cheating on their husbands or boyfriends with their young lovers. Psychologists say that this is a modern phenomenon but what it was in the past. Was it a phenomenon? It may be. We can assume that Tristram was younger both than Mark and Earl Segwarides.

26 What can we conclude? Tristram probably used the opportunity when Isolde was far away and the lady was probably fascinated by his good reputation and strength. Although it may look like they were in love Tristram refused to defend her when she was kidnapped by Sir Bleoberis – he said we would not protect her when her husband is nearby – his love towards her does not seem to be deep and honest. He seems not to be ready for a serious relationship with a woman. Tristram was ready to rally behind the lady only after Earl Segwarides was badly wounded by Bleoberis. Since Tristram was a cousin of Lancelot Bleoberis stopped fighting and suggested that the lady should choose the man she would like to be with. She chose Bleoberis because Tristram did not want to help her at the beginning. She probably valued bravery. And how can we interpret Isolde’s mother giving the love potion to Isolde and her future husband? Her mother probably wanted Isolde to marry a wealthy man that would be able to make provision for Isolde, and what’s more, Isolde was a daughter of members of aristocracy and for Isolde’s mother it would be good for Isolde’s children to be members of aristocracy as well. If we talk about members of aristocracy such as the Hapsburgs we find out that it was common for a male member of this dynasty to marry his cousin, which led to degeneration of their gene pool (many of them suffered from several illnesses, their immune systems were very weak – this is why they died out – for example, the great-grandparents of Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I. were common (Hamannová, 2010), but what is more important now is the fact that their property remained in their dynasty. Isolde’s situation can be similar – her mother wanted her and daughter (and grand-children) to remain members of aristocracy or even members of a royal dynasty. This is not about property, of course, but also about the power over a country as well. Today we know for sure that children from marriages of the relatives are more probable to inherit an illness from their parents since their parents are relatives (Otová, 2008). When Isolde is defending Sir Palomides she argues that he is not baptised and she thinks he should be baptised. This is an unusual reason for a Christian knight to safe a pagan’s life. Isolde seems to be a religious and tolerant woman but on the other hand she refuses different religions. Her another argument that Palomides would be damned for ever in case he dies as a pagan is almost a Christian propaganda. In 21st century every single man living in a free democratic country has a religious freedom. We can see that paganism was withdrawing – at least among aristocracy and knights.

27 It is difficult for us to imagine being punished for adultery by being taken to a house of lepers. It seems to be some kind of revenge rather than punishment. What is surprising is the fact that King Mark did not divorce Isolde as would people nowadays. Another interesting point that we can see is that adultery was common in the past as well as in the present times. It seems that this phenomenon accompanies people for a long time. How can we prove that Isolde really loved Tristram? She sent him to another lady to cure him since this lady called Isolde of the white Hands was the only one that could help him. She wanted to do as much as possible to help Tristram but he was not grateful because he married the lady that helped him. It is difficult to say why he did so but we know that this deed was condemned not only by Isolde but also by Lancelot. Why did Tristram marry her? She made a good impression on him. He probably could not refuse such a nice behaviour towards him. We can see that women in those times knew how to seduce men – just be good at them and they will succumb to these charms. Why Tristram did not want Isolde of the White Hands to loose her virginity with him? He probably wanted to prevent her from loosing her virginity with a man that did not love her and was thinking about another girl. It seems to be obvious that people in those times valued virginity more than people do nowadays. In our society there are movies like for example “Bare Bea” (a Norwegian movie for young people shot in 2004) that present virginity as something of no value that should be eliminated. In this movie the main protagonist – a 16 years old girl – is the last girl in her class that is still a virgin. And her friends are trying to help her in order to loose her virginity. After watching the movie the viewers should think that virginity is an obstacle and something we should be ashamed of. But there is one question? Are these movies right or not? This question is rather difficult to answer since every person has his own opinion. When talking in general: virginity was considered to be our personal matter and the symbol of purity that we should loose only after marriage (1 Cor. 6.18). But it is not only Christianity that thinks so. There are many other religions that share this opinion – Buddhism, Islam and Judaism for example. How to explain that? Our moral values changed and now people are more liberal, they have different opinions on sex in general from the people in the past, they want to enjoy their lives and they do not consider sex to be only for giving birth to children. And they tend to refuse traditional values – we can hear in the news that

28 people do not believe in God for instance. (www.novinky.cz, 2012). 2 Another problem is that young people are influenced not only by the media as mentioned above but also by the other people, especially older. The young people want to be on the same level as the older ones and that is why they are doing this kind of stuff earlier. People tend to have their first sexual experience earlier not only in the Czech Republic but in the Western Europe and the USA as well. They can regret doing so later but this is another problem (Weiss, Zvěřina, 2001). Tristram and Isolde are lovers. We cannot doubt it. They meet; stay together for a while, then one of them leaves. Is their love deep? Yes, it is because Isolde forgave him marrying Isolde of the White Hands. Interestingly though, Tristram cannot stand the love letters from Sir Kehadius. Why is it interesting? When he married Isolde of the White Hands Queen Isolde was upset but she was not arguing with him about that. On the other hand when Tristram found out that Kehadius loved Isolde he wanted to battle with him. These two reactions are not equal. What does it mean? It means that his adultery or betray was probably more acceptable, despite of the fact that Tristram was already married, than the fact that another man was in love with Isolde. We can assume that adultery of a man in general was more acceptable because men tend to cheat on their partners. Why? Probably since men tend to cheat on their partners than women. Some studies confirm this statement – for example the studies of Alfred Kinsey (www.kinseyinstitute.org).3

3.11. A sorceress visiting Wales

When King Arthur decided to visit Wales and stay in the Cardiff castle, he was not the only one to arrive. A sorceress called Aunowre in order to have a sex with him. The reason was that she loved him. She invited him to her tower – where she lived – located in the Perilous Forest. So Arthur left Wales for the forest and after arrival she tried to seduce him, but she did not manage to do so since Arthur was thinking of his queen Guinevere. When she realized there is no chance to persuade him she decided to kill him. But Arthur was lucky because Nineve – now being the Lady of the Lake – wanted to help him, so she warned Lancelot and Tristram to save him. Arthur after

2 http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/264311-v-cesku-ubyva-vericich-stat-vsak-plati-stale-vice- fararu.html?ref=boxF 3 http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-data.html#extramaritalcoitus

29 being saved beheaded Aunowre and gave her head to the Lady of the Lake so that she could use it as a trophy. Here is another sorceress that is using her knowledge and power to seduce a man. It seems that women tend to do everything to have the partner they love. When she realized Arthur would not be hers she wanted to revenge. It is similar to the situation in our society? Yes, it is. Today we can experience women (and men as well) that are ready to do almost everything to seduce someone – for example the fans of sportsmen or actors or other celebrities. Some of these fans are able to do crazy things: football fans, for instance, support their teams in a crazy way – they sometimes destroy the stadium, fight with the police and so on. We can hear it in the news from time to time. It is not so similar but the substance is to do anything to reach their goals.

3.12. Arthur’s enemy

Morgan was a witch that had one particular goal – to kill Arthur – and was not afraid of using other people to fulfil her wish. But she did not manage to kill him since there was someone protecting Arthur even her own servants which suggests us that Arthur represented an authority for everyone no matter whose servants these people were. She was preparing treason – she sent her female servants in order to find Tristram because she wanted to kill him. The reason why she wanted to kill him was simple – he defeated some of her knights. It was revenge. But Tristram met Gawain and together they rode to the castle where Morgan was living. She refused to fight with both of them since they were too strong for her. So Tristram left. Later he was captured by her in her castle. She promised him that she would let him go if he told her his name. He did so and she had to release him but on condition that he would do her a favour. She released him in order not to harm her honour. The favour was the following: at a tournament he had to carry her shield. There was a symbol on the shield designed by Morgan herself. The symbol was to reprove Lancelot, Guinevere and King Arthur. She did this because she loved

30 Lancelot although she had a relationship with Sir Hemison who died in battle with Tristram. Morgan then built a tomb for him and buried him there. Arthur was not the only man Morgan wished to kill. Another man to be killed by her was her own husband. She ordered one of her female servants to bring her the sword of her husband. The servant did so but before that she told everything to Morgan’s son, Sir Uwain, who saved his father. After that Morgan escaped to the forest where she found Arthur sleeping. She intended to steal Arthur’s sword and scabbard since these were mighty. Merlin gave these two things to Arthur. She managed to steal the scabbard but she threw it into a lake, when Arthur was chasing her, so that no one would be able to use it again. Morgan since she was a witch used her spells to turn herself and even her men to stones – when she was young she learnt magic. Morgan was using her spells not only to gain more power but also to start a new relationship. Lancelot when sleeping under a tree was enchanted by her, taken to her castle and then, after a seven hour sleep, he was to choose one of the four ladies that brought him to the castle. He was warned that if he had not chosen he would stay there as a prisoner and die. But Lancelot escaped. How? A daughter of King Bagdemagus helped him when Lancelot promised that he would help her father in a combat. In the end of the story she is one of the ladies that took care of Arthur before he died. The other ladies were the queen of North Wales, the queen of the Waste Lands and the Lady of the Lake, Nineve. They carried Arthur’s body across a lake and then they buried him.

3.13. How powerful Morgan was in comparison to real characters

She was a treacherous and cunning. But on the other hand she was powerful and willing to fulfil her goals. That can be good but only of it does not harm other people – she was not interested in other people but herself and her interests. She was capable of doing anything in order to reach her goals – even of killing someone. If someone wishes to kill his own husband it means that this person wants everything only for himself and live as such has almost no value for him. She

31 probably did not care about her family. But one of her servants did since this servant warned Morgan’s son about the plans of his mother. From Morgan’s point of view it was a traitorous act, on the other hand from Morgan’s son’s point of view it was a meritorious deed since he saved his father. We can conclude that Morgan wanted all the power only for herself not only because she intended to kill her husband and Arthur but also since she wanted to steal a sword and scabbard from Arthur. Thanks to these two things Arthur was so powerful and was defeating his enemies. If Morgan stole them she would be as powerful as Arthur. It would probably lead to overthrowing of Arthur and replacing him by Morgan. She would become the queen of England and with the sword and scabbard one of the most powerful rulers of that period. There are not so many women similar to Morgan. As an example we can take Queen Gwendolen. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that she was a wife of Locrinus, the king of the Britons, and that she successfully fought against him since he divorced her. Gwendolen then moved to Cornwall, gathered her army and declared war on Locrinus. During the battle at the river Stour he was hit by an arrow and died. After his death she took control of the whole country and became the queen. Her reign lasted for 15 years. (Geoffrey of Monmouth, 2010) We can even say that women wanted to be on the same level as men in the Dark Ages. What does it can mean? It can mean that feminist movements are not as original as we may think but they can be a result of the history. She is different form other women characters in the book. She does not want her honour to be disgraced. When reading the book the reader will start to think that honour was the matter of men not of women. But here we have a woman being involved in men’s affairs. It reminds us of some female rulers that depended only on themselves. Elizabeth II, contemporary British queen also cares about the honour of her and of her country as well. Why? She is the ruler and represents The United Kingdom. If we suppose that Morgan was a ruler of her lands it was her who had to care about representation of these lands and that is why she wanted to respected by the other rulers. Why Morgan took care of Arthur before his death? Firstly she might felt sorry for him since she was his sister and the second reason may be that as a witch she could heal him. It is known that she intended to kill him but after the civil war fought between Arthur and Mordred it is possible that she realized what happened and decided to help him.

32 3.14. Lancelot saving ladies

On his journey Lancelot met a woman that told him about a knight that is robbing and raping women passing through the forest he lives in. Lancelot was very disconcerted since he was a real knight – protecting women and fighting for their honour. And that is why he decided to set a trap for this knight called Sir Peris of the Savage Forest. Lancelot hid himself and was waiting meanwhile the lady was passing through the forest. When Sir Peris saw her he set out in order to catch her. When Lancelot saw this he run out of his hiding place and started to fight with the other knight. This combat led to Lancelot’s victory. Lancelot was a true knight, fulfilling the rules of chivalry – mainly to protect a lady (Šmahelová, 2008). On the other hand Sir Peris was not a knight. He resembles a bandit since they were living out of towns, hiding in the forest, robbing and raping (TV documentary “The Middle Ages”, 2008).

3.15. Bringing of Galahad to the court of Arthur

On one day Lancelot was visited by a lady that asked him to go with her. She was like a messenger although she did not tell him the reason and what is more when Guinevere asked Lancelot why he was leaving she answered instead of him. The lady has no name but we know that she took him to the forest where a nunnery was standing. In this nunnery the nuns were raising Galahad. Lancelot was asked to make him a knight. Lancelot as a gentleman obeyed. Women are serving as messengers in the book. There are more examples. They are accompanying their husbands-knights and if necessary they are to find help for their husbands. Morgan has female servants and uses them in this way as well. But why do women have such a role? They are said to be more reliable and a messenger must be reliable. Galahad is being raised and educated in a nunnery. This is an example of a church school. The church schools were considered to be the best schools during the middle Ages since the church had enough money.

33 3.16. A lady from quest for the Holy Grail

Galahad when sleeping in a hermitage was awakened by a lady that came to offer him a great adventure. Galahad immediately followed her since he wanted to undertake a combat. The woman took him to a boat, where he met Sir Percival and Sir Bors, sailed across a lake and showed him a ship that had been sent by the God himself. The lady told Sir Percival she was his sister which surprised him. She told them a story of two kings fighting against one another and about a sword lying on the floor of the ship. When one of the kings died he fell on the floor of the boat and no one except one virgin dared to throw him to the lake. She said that Galahad was the only to pull it out of the scabbard. The lady was talking about one of Galahad’s predecessors and Galahad was happy to find out who his grandfather was. On their journey they came upon a castle which inhabitants had a strange custom – the virgin has to fill a bowl with her own blood from the right arm. The people of the castle were keeping the customs since their mistress was very ill and they were told that she could be cured only with the blood of a virgin who is a king’s daughter. The mistress was healed by Percival’s sister died. Again there is a lady serving as a courier but with one difference. No man sent her. She came on her own in order to offer the sword and other adventures. What we can say is that she was not wearing the sword because carrying a weapon was a man’s job with the only exception and this exception was when a lady came to Arthur and gave him a sword. But when speaking in general women were not involved in fighting or carrying a weapon. There is a big difference between the book and the present situation because nowadays women can buy a gun if they wish or they can even join the army or work as a policewomen. Although there were queens that even commanded their own armies it was not common for a woman to join the army. Only men were soldiers and we know that when there was and the ruler ordered mobilization only men had to obey this order. Before the battle of Hastings the king Harold Godwinson summoned his army that consisted of both the professional soldiers, called “the housecarls” and people that had to join his army. They were called “the fyrd” – that consisted of landowners and farmers. These were men only. (Trevelyan, 1987)

34 Why would a virgin be the only one to be able to throw the dead body to the water? As mentioned above virgins are considered by many religions as pure people with no sins. And that is probably why she was not afraid of doing such a thing. The western civilization would consider such treatments (like virgin’s blood) to be barbarous, meaningless and primitive. People quite easily got used to take modern medicaments such as antibiotics for instance. On the other hand we can feel that there is a tendency towards so called “natural medicine”. But natural medicine is different from using virgin’s blood. Natural medicine is based on some facts or practicing and it really works since many people have positive experience with this kind of treatment. The problem is that in some underdeveloped countries people believe in such unbelievable things and they refuse to change their opinions.

3.17. Lancelot as an idol

Elaine nicknamed The Fair Maid of Astolat fell in love with Lancelot when he rested in her father’s castle before a tournament. She gave him her brother’s shield so that he would not be recognized during the jousting. However, this is not the only thing she gave him – she persuaded Lancelot to wear her red scarf at the tournament. Lancelot did so and people really did not know who he was. Unfortunately, Lancelot was badly wounded and was taken to a hermitage where he was being healed. When Elaine found it out she asked her father to let her go and find him. He father allowed her to do so and she immediately left her castle and stayed in the hermitage with Lancelot for more than a month taking care of him. When Lancelot was cured and ready to leave for new adventures Elaine proposed marriage to him. Lancelot refused because he did not want to be a husband and Elaine when hearing that fainted and died because of love. Before she died she was thinking of Lancelot and why he did not marry her. Guinevere on the other hand wished Lancelot would die when Gawain told her this story. She was not only very upset but also surprised as well as the others since Lancelot had never worn a scarf of a lady before. It seems that he broke his own habit.

35 3.18. The burial of Elaine

This romantic story seems to be a story of a young girl, probably still a teenager that fell in love with an older man that does not reciprocate her love. We can read about similar stories nowadays in the books for teenagers and in the news of course. From a historical point of view there is one thing that can tell us more about the habits of these people. It is the burial of Elaine. The burial is well-described – her body was put on a boat and sailed on the river Thames through London. This kind of burial reminds us of one type of Viking burials: the body of a dead Viking was taken on a boat and the boat was sailed to open sea. Norwegian archaeologists found a ship that is now called “the Oseberg ship” in a burial mound at the Oseberg mound in the southern Norway. In 834 a woman was buried into the burial chamber located behind the main mast. Before being covered with the soil the ship probably sailed to the location where the ceremony took place. The archaeologists say that this kind of burial was for the rich people. Since Vikings were pagans the burial is pagan as well. (Batey, 1998). On the other when Arthur and Guinevere saw the boat they pull the boat out and ordered Lancelot to bury her. Since the king, the queen and their knights were Christians Lancelot arranged a Christian funeral – there was a mass before the body was buried in the abbey.

36 4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

4.1. General information about the poem

The poem was written by an unknown author during the fourteenth century. Although being called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the original manuscript has no official title. From the point of view of alliterative medieval poetry this poem represents a masterpiece and therefore it is still popular amongst the readers. Together with L’Morte de Arthur it is considered to make the basis of the English literature. When writing the poem the author was probably inspired by other sources. We can recognize the sources: the Chivalric theme originates in France; on the other hand the description of landscapes comes from the Celtic tradition and thus pagan. However the Celtic tradition is supplemented by Christian influence. The Celtic tradition is accompanied by the Irish one, to be specific by the epic Fled Bricrend that describes a beheading too. In the French romance called Le Livre de Caradoc that was written in the twelfth or thirteen century we can read about beheading, Arthur and even Guinevere. This poem together with L’Morte de Arthur was influenced both by paganism and Christianity – it gives us an idea that some pagan habits or traditions were still present in some form in those times although Christianity was the only official religion. Since this piece of art is a poem it is full of symbols. There are many different symbols ranging from animals to girdles. The animals, namely the deer, boar and fox, are considered by particular researchers to be religious symbols representing the Flesh, the Devil and the World. These symbols can be found not only in the books but in the medieval iconography which suggests that they were important. And what does the girdle stands for? Sir Gawain was given the girdle by Lady Bertilak in order to protect him. And it happened so. When the Green Knight tried to cut his head off he failed. He only scratched him. However, there is another symbol that is well-known and used and that is the Pentangle. This symbol can be found on the Gawain’s coat and shield but only in this poem, not in L’Morte de Arthur. It has been widely connected to magic. There are more theories about its’ meaning. The Pentangle is not the only symbol Gawain’s shield is decorated – the other symbol is a picture of the

37 Virgin Mary and her Child. Its’ purpose is to prevent Gawain’s heart from failing and to be his guide during his journey to the Green Chapel. These symbols are important and strong and should be taken into consideration when studying the poem. The readers cannot be sure where exactly the poem takes place. But there is one clue – the poem says Gawain rides to northern Wales. The reader can observe and deduce that this poem and the book L’Morte de Arthur are somehow connected when speaking about the setting since Wales is mentioned in the book several times. Wales seems to be a historical country that attracted both Malory and the author of this poem. Wales is a historical country – the archaeologists found out that the stones the Stonehenge was made were mined in Wales around 2400 BC. This country along with Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland is connected to the Celts since these people were pushed to those places by the Romans (McDowall, 1989).

4.2. Lady Bertilak’s main role – to seduce Lancelot

Before speaking about Lady Bertilak that is the main female character of the poem it shall be said something about other women. First of all the reader meets Guinevere that is described almost in the same way as in L’Morte de Arthur. According to the illustration in the original manuscript she is sitting on Arthur’s left (Stone, 1974). Such a detailed description suggests that authors of that age knew the manners of the aristocracy as mentioned above. Later in the poem when Sir Gawain finds himself in the castle of Lord Bertilak there are two ladies except Lady Bertilak that are watching him. One of these two ladies is old, the other one young. Gawain as a gentleman first greets the older lady by saluting her and then the younger one by embracing and kissing her. It is polite to greet the older person first (Špaček, 2005). Lord Bertilak goes hunting every morning during three days. Every time he left his wife went to the chamber Gawain was sleeping in and was trying to seduce Gawain. It was a trial. Before that the both men agreed that they would exchange their achievements. It means that Lord Bertilak would give the animal he shot to Gawain and Gawain would give him kisses, since he kissed Lady Bertilak every morning when Lord Bertilak left.

38 On the first morning Lord Bertilak wants to hunt for the deer. After his departure his wife slowly enters Gawain’s chamber and talks to him. He is acquiescent so it is Lady Bertilak that has the control over the situation. She is seducing him openly, to be specific she said: “My young body is yours, do with it what you will.” (Stone, 1974) Finally she kisses him. In the afternoon when Lord Bertilak comes back from the wood he meets Gawain and gives him the deer and Gawain in return for the game hugs and kisses Lord Bertilak. This was the end of the first day. Saying something like “my body is yours” is an expression of passion and sexual desire. Conservative people or society, for example the Church, would consider such a woman to be a prostitute since this kind of expression is strong and easy to understand. When reading the Bible we can find out that our body is not intended for sexual immorality but for the God (1 Cor. 6.13) and that we should never have a sex with a prostitute. (1 Cor. 6.15) In the same book we can read that the one that sins sexually sins against his body. (1 Cor. 6. 18) The next chapter speaks about unmarried women and virgins stating that they should dedicate their bodies to the Lord. (1 Cor. 7.34) Similarly in the book Thessalonians the God says directly that we should avoid sexual immorality. (1 Thess. 4.3) What is taken aback is the fact that Lady Bertilak is married so she should be saying such words to her husband. On the other hand this statement suggests that she was aware of her sexuality and knew how to use her female “weapons”. However, Gawain was thinking about the promise he was to fulfil. When speaking about sexuality it is important to mention that in the book kissing does not occur only between a man and a woman but between the men as well. It is difficult to imagine two knights kissing but in those times the perspective on two men kissing was probably different which is in contrast to Christian attitudes since The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin. To be more specific The Bible says that men who have sex with men will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6. 9) and that men committed shameful acts with other men and were punished fro their behaviour. (Rom. 1. 27) On the next day Lord Bertilak wants to shot a boar and leaves in the morning. His wife visits Sir Gawain who offers her a kiss whenever she wants one. After one kiss they talk about love, but Lady Bertilak still tries to seduce him but she fails. Instead of having a sex with him she kisses him for the second times and leaves. Before the dinner Lord Bertilak hands over the boar to Gawain and they kiss each other.

39 The last day is almost the same. Lord Bertilak is chasing a fox and his wife, since she was not able to fall asleep, runs to Gawain’s chambers. After waking him up she kissed him. But later she told him he is a bad lover. The reason is that he does not want her. Gawain replied that his heart did not belong to any woman. Lady Bertilak probably gets angry and before the last kiss she wants a present from him. Since he has nothing with him to give she says that she will give something to him. The first thing she offers him is a richly decorated ring made of gold that is very valuable. Gawain gives reasons for his refusal: he cannot take it since he has no present for her. The second thing is her girdle. She takes it off and tells him to take it but Gawain replies that he cannot take anything, neither gold nor a present, until the God gives him grace. Lady Bertilak wonders why he refuses the girdle and says that the one that wears the girdle tightly on his body is invulnerable so cannot be killed. After hearing this Gawain realizes that the girdle could save his life when fighting with the Green Knight and thus he allowed her to tie the girdle around his body. However he had to promise he would never tell anybody about the girdle not even her husband. Later that day when Lord Bertilak managed to catch a fox he exchanged the skin of the fox for three kisses. During the evening Gawain said goodbye to everyone in the castle and he left next morning with a squire of Lord Bertilak that showed him where the Green Chapel stood. In the Green Chapel the Green Knight tried to behead Gawain but he did not manage to cut his head off since he saw that Gawain wore the girdle that belonged to Lord Bertilak’s wife. He decided to tell him the truth – he is both the Green Knight and Lord Bertilak and it was him who made Lady Bertilak to try to seduce Gawain. After that Gawain considers the girdle to be a symbol of sin and that is why he wants to wear it. Despite controlling his wife Lord Bertilak was controlled as well and it was by Morgan the Fay. He confessed to that fact when speaking with Gawain. Merlin was teaching Morgan sorcery and now she is called “Morgan the Goddess”. She can control him since lives in his house. Morgan sent him to Arthur’s court in order to test the reputation of the Knights of the Round Table. However this was not the only reason. Her second reason was to harm Guinevere. This part of the poem reminds us of Malory’s L’Morte de Arthur – Morgan is Arthur’s half-sister, the daughter of the Duchess of Tintagel. We do not know if the author of the poem was familiar with Malory’s book since the author remains unknown. The second possibility is that both

40 of the writers used other source, for example a chronicle or a legend. Lord Bertilak wants Gawain to visit her because she is his aunt. Gawain did not want to and left for Camelot where he was warmly welcomed by the king, queen and all the knights. When he told the knights about the girdle they immediately started to wear green girdle around their bodies.

4.3. Lady Bertilak’s ability to control other people

It is rather difficult to answer the question whether Lady Bertilak is a strong character or not. It is certain that she is not as strong as Morgan. On the other hand she has power since her husband is a mighty and wealthy knight. She tries to control Sir Gawain but she is not successful because Gawain thinks only about the promise he gave to the Green Knight. What can be even dumbfounding is the fact the she offers her body to Gawain. We know that she did it because of her husband but for some people, as mentioned before, she could resemble a prostitute. Why would her husband persuade her of seducing Gawain? It is obvious that he intended to test him and maybe he wanted to test his wife too. Lord Bertilak probably knew that his wife would not cheat on him otherwise he would not do such a thing. Gawain was given a girdle. It is not so usual for men to be given women’s pieces of clothes. Although being tolerant our society would consider a man having women’s pieces of clothes a deviant or a fetishist since fetishism is an aim towards objects or parts of human body that excite the person. (Zvěřina, 2003) Nowadays it is not common to wear women clothes as a talisman. Nevertheless the girdle has another point except the sexual one. The symbol of girdle reminds us of the Order of the Garter established around the year 1347 (before the poem was written). This order used a dark blue garter made of velvet as the symbol of the order (www.heraldicsculptor.com).4 The members of the order, both male and female, consider wearing the garter as an honour. In the poem it is not mentioned where on Gawain’s body Lady Bertilak put the girdle but when Gawain returned to the court of King Arthur he wore it around his neck. There is a difference between the poem and

4 http://www.heraldicsculptor.com/Garters.html

41 reality since the current male members of the order wear the girdles around their left calves and female members around their left arms. Morgan the Fay – another female character as well as Lady Bertilak that is much more powerful. She has enough power to control Lord Bertilak – that means that she is more powerful than a knight. In Malory’s L’Morte de Arthur she controls her lovers and behaves haughtily towards them. In the poem we do not know whether Lord Bertilak is her lover or not. What we know is the fact that she lives in his house which means that she was somehow important for him or that he did not have enough courage to tell her to leave. And there is a analogy between this poem and Malory’s book – in both of them Morgan wishes to harm Arthur since she hates him. Her hate is so strong that is influencing her very much.

4.4. Conclusion

The poem represents one of the best pieces of the British literature. However, it is not important only for the British literature but for the Romance literature in general as well. Basically there is only one main female character and two other female characters are mentioned. The first one – Lady Bertilak – obeys her husband wishes, tempts Gawain and tries to make him to be her lover. The second one – Morgan – does not appear directly since Lord Bertilak speaks about her. He actually confesses that she has control over him and that he has to do what she wants him to do. And finally Guinevere – the wife of Arthur is very beautiful and nice person. The poem does not tell us more information about her.

42 5. Author’s own experience

5.1. The places the author visited

The author of the thesis visited England in 2011 in order to gather more information about the legend and to visit some places connected with the legends of King Arthur. First place the author visited is called Tintagel. The name stands both for the castle and village. The castle is situated in Cornwall, south-west England and it is considered to be one of the most amazing historical sites in England – not only for the ruins of the castle but for the surrounding nature as well. The cliffs there are wonderful. But the ruins of the castle are more important for us now although the castle was built in the 13th century by Richard, earl of Cornwall. Nevertheless Richard is not the first to settle in this place. Before him, during the Dark Ages (from the fifth to seventh centuries) people constructed a stronghold almost on the same place. The foundations of the stronghold and adjoining buildings can still be seen there. People throughout the history were interested in the castle in spite of the fact that the castle was abandoned in the first half of the 14th century. First tourists visited Tintagel in the 17th century and in 1933 the serious excavations began. Nowadays the place attracts tourists from all around the world since the place remains mysterious. How is the castle connected to the legends of King Arthur? Arthur is said to be born in the castle and his mother, Igraine, spent a part of her life in this place. The castle is not the only place that attracts the tourists. The other one is called King Arthur’s Hall of Chivalry and is rather modern since the Hall was built in 1929 by local citizen Frederick Thomas Glasscock. His intention was to restore chivalric tradition and to hold ceremonies inside. After his death the Hall was open up for the public. When a tourist comes in he firstly listens to one version of the legend of King Arthur and then he walks to the Hall itself where he can seen the Round Table, a throne and a sword in a stone. The Hall is richly decorated with stained-glass windows. What we can experience in Tintagel is that the village is an attraction for tourists. It is obvious because there are names of places like the Camelot Castle Hotel or King Arthur’s Arms Inn. Even parking lots bears the name of Arthur or Merlin.

43 Thanks to these legends the villagers can earn money not only by providing accommodation but also by selling souvenirs. The last place the author visited was Stonehenge. It can be found on a near Salisbury in the county of Wiltshire not so far from London. The first construction site at this place appeared 5000 years ago and the circle consisted of timber sticks. 2500 years later the first stoned were transported there. From that time stones began to replace the wood. It is very probable that from the beginning Stonehenge was being built as a temple. Nonetheless not all the questions have been answered and that is why Stonehenge still keeps some secrets. Stonehenge is mentioned in L’Morte de Arthur as place where marriages were taking place. What is also interesting is that Malory calls it “the stone circle” as people do nowadays. These are only three examples of places that benefit from the legends because their economies are based on tourism. It is evident that the legends are still preserved and known amongst the people.

5.2. The interviews

When staying in England the author interviewed several people and asked them questions about the legends. The author’s goal was to find out what the common people think of the problem. The number of the interviewed people was seven.

1. The first person the author interviewed was an older man from the village of Ilfracombe. He said that King Arthur is just a myth and that it is better to read a piece of classic like the Bronte sisters or Thomas Hardy. On the other hand he accepts the fact that the legends and known and popular. 2. The second was a man working for the National Heritage. We met in the own of Croyde. His opinion was that the legends are both important and popular since children are learning about them. The importance of the legends is both historical and literal. He personally likes them and thinks some of them are true because they are based on the facts. 3. One waitress from the Pelican restaurant in the town of Barnstaple told the author that she loves the legends since they are a part of the British culture and history and that is why they are important. She advised the author to visit

44 Glastonbury because the Avalon and Holy Grail are said to be there. Her enthusiasm was easy to recognize. 4. The author was lucky to meet an employee of the National Heritage at the Tintagel castle. The man says that the legends are important for the people because they are a part of the British literature. The interpretation of the legends depends on the time we live in. The first man to write them down was Geoffrey of Monmouth who wrote them from the Christian point of view – according to him meaning bringing Christianity to Britain. (this happened in the 12th century) The next one to write them down was Sir Thomas Malory who was describing mainly chivalry. During the Victorian period Lord Tennyson wrote his poem The Lady of the Shallot that is rather romantic since the poem is about love and is from the modern point of view – independence, an individual is important. Now there are TV series like Merlin or Camelot that creates their own interpretations. On the other hand the Tintagel castle is just a ruin maintained by the National Heritage. 5. There was a man working in a bookshop in the village of Tintagel that considered the legends as a myth because we do not know if they are true or not. Now we have stories like Harry Potter that deal with wizardry. 6. In a souvenir shop in Tintagel the author met a man that comes from the northern England but in that time he was living in Tintagel. He told the author that he was learning about the legends at school and now considers them as a part of the English history and literature as many other people and knows that children are learning about them as well. According to him the legends are important for the village because the village is a tourist destination so it cannot be without them – the tourists bring money with them. 7. When spending his time in England the author stayed in a host family consisting of two adults. One of them was called Elizabeth. She was not sure if there is enough evidence so King Arthur is rather a myth. On the other hand she believed that there could be someone called Arthur during the Dark Ages. As she lives near Glastonbury (another tourist destination connected with the legends) she is convinced that the legends are crucial for the economy of such places. Elizabeth was quite sure that people in Britain do not know much about Arthur since the teachers at her school did not tell them about him. Arthur serves as inspiration for many books and movies that are amazing, for

45 example Arthur High King of Britain written by Michael Morpurgo. However the interpretation differs from the time. 8. The second member of the author’s host family called Darren learnt about the legends when he was young in his literature classes. And now he partly believes them – for him Arthur was somebody like Richard the Lionheart. As well as his wife Elizabeth he believes that the importance of the legends is rather for tourism than the heritage. Darren like movies and saw a DVD King Arthur: Jerry Bruckheimer Films. For him this movie is more realistic than other movies.

5.3. Author’s experience from a summer school in Slovenia

The author participated in a summer school in 2012 that took place in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. The topic for the year 2012 was “At the Hub of Culture: the European Cultural Capital 2012.” The lecturers were speaking not only about culture but about history or art as well. The author would like to compare the knowledge he learnt at the summer school with Arthurian legends. At the lecture called “The Sculpture Workshop of Ptujska Gora” the author learnt about a church situated near the town of Ptujska Gora. What is interesting in this church that was built around the year 1400 is one coat of arms. Usually a coat of arms of a man was always on the right side during the middle Ages. But on this particular one it is on the left side which means that this man was of less importance than his wife since his wife has her coat of arms on the right side. On the contrary – in antiquity in Roman Empire only men were free. Being free meant not being a slave. But women were a special case since there was no way how to categorize them. Women living in Roman Empire were in completely opposite situation than women in Malory’s book. When speaking about the roles of women we cannot forget that one role of women is probably the most famous and that is the role of mother. At the summer school we met the role of mother when discussing the street children of Ukraine. The teacher used the concept of ideal family according to Freud – there are two children, mother and father. The mother is on the same level as the father since both of them have certain important roles: the mother brings love to her children and her husband

46 the law and order. All these three things are important since the children have to learn how to express their emotions. However the love is often unconditional – it means that mothers love their children even regardless of what they do, even if they commit a crime mothers still love them. The problem arises when the father is not fulfilling his roles because he is in prison for example. The model of such a family changes and the mother cannot substitute him. What happens is that the children started to become disobedient. Why? Since the father is missing. On this example we can see that although being important women cannot replace men in certain roles (the father of a family). On the other hand there are many examples of women that raised their children alone and the children are obedient. But this depends only on the women – if they are ambitious, educated, independent and self-confident. The summer school was helpful in understanding both the culture of a foreign country and the opinions of different people. It is a good way how to gather new information and also a unique opportunity how to speak to the university teachers about anything.

47 6. The life of women in the middle Ages with references to Arthurian legends

In this part the author would like to try to compare the real life of women during the Middle Ages with that one that is described in L’Morte d’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Examples of real characters will be given as well. Throughout the history women had different positions – important or less important. Some women even managed to overtop men, for example Cleopatra. There were periods in which women were both celebrated (The Venus of Dolni Věstonice) and neglected – during the period of the middle ages women subordinate to men, especially to their fathers and husbands. (Ostrovská; Polišenský, 2000) Medieval society developed certain rules women had to follow. Young women were expected to preserve their moral purity. It means that people valued virgins very much (even more than wives and widows) since virgins were considered as women that gave their bodies to the God. Tristram refused to have a sex with a virgin since he did not love her and did not want her to loose her virginity with somebody who is not in love with her. Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas mentioned such thoughts in their works. (Ennen, 2001) Unfortunately, women could not choose their husbands on their own. This was their parents’ job. Parents were not interested in the wishes of their daughter but in the advantages they as a family would be given. According to the Germanic law the marriage was arranged by the guardian of a woman and the possible husband who was supposed to give the guardian the wedding gift. (Ennen, 2001) When Arthur wanted to marry Guinevere the first who was informed about it was actually her father. The Church insisted on public marriages and following certain rules like enunciation of the wedding vows in front of the church portal in presence of a priest and witnesses. (Ennen, 2001) A royal and Christian wedding is well-described in L’Morte d’Arthur – Uther’s marriage with Igraine takes place in a church in presence of important people of his country. When there was a royal wedding to take place the husband and the woman’s father were not the only people that have to agree with the wedding. The other people were the archbishops, aristocracy and bishops. In 1152 there was a council of such

48 people in the town of Beaugency that declared that the marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor would be annulled. (Ennen, 2001) There is an opposite situation in L’Morte d’Arthur but based on the same principle. Before marrying Igraine Uther was given a approval from the barons of his country. After the marriage was over the husband became the guardian of his wife and she had to be loyal to him which meant that women were punished for adultery in a very cruel way. (Goetz, 2005) This is demonstrated by Arthur’s decision to burn Guinevere at the stake because she cheated on him. However, Guinevere was not burnt since Lancelot rescued her but for us it is a very surprising and merciless decision. Being married to a man did not only mean to be loyal to him but also to represent him and be a credit to her family. (Petráňová, 2005) Let us take Arthur and Guinevere as an example. When Galahad arrived at the Camelot he was welcomed by Guinevere in a very polite way. Actually she was the first to greet him. It suggests that Arthur wanted to make a good impression on Galahad since he let his beautiful wife to welcome him. Representing one’s family is a difficult and responsible role but not the only one wives had to fulfil. There were other roles: women had to give birth to children so that their husbands could have an heir. This was one of the main tasks of all the women regardless of their social status. Taking care of children was very exhausting and that is why they could take part in the public life only by force of their brothers, fathers, husbands or sons. (Petráňová, 2005) Lady Bertilak talks to Gawain only because her husband ordered her to do so. We cannot be sure whether she would start talking to him without her husband’s permission. It is possible to show how medieval women were used as a means of diplomacy. During early Middle Ages Charles the Bald, the King of West Frankish Kingdom, married off his daughter Judith to Ethelwulf, the king of Wessex. Ethelwulf had a son called Ethelbald with his first wife Osburh. After the death of Ethelwulf Ethelbald replaced him on the throne and married Judith who was Ethelbald’s stepmother. Despite of the fact that they were relatives the marriage was recognized as lawful both by the aristocracy and the Church. However, Ethelbald died only two years after the wedding. On the other hand it meant that Judith could choose her new husband on her own which she did. She fell in love with a knight Balduin and married him. Only for the third time she married because of love. (Ennen, 2001)

49 We do not know if Malory knew this story but he created very similar one – when Arthur left for France to fight with Lancelot he hand over the reign to his son Mordred. Arthur thought that Mordred would take care of his country when he is absent. Unfortunately, Mordred started to think that he could do everything he wanted with Arthur’s country and wanted to rule on his own. That is why he decided to marry Guinevere, his stepmother, since she was the queen. This event led to a war in which both men died and which ruined all the country. In the two previous paragraphs two queens were mentioned. The reader could consider queens as rather passive characters that were allowed to make their own decisions only during certain circumstances. In fact this is not right. The reader should know that in the East women used to participate in ruling the country. It was a tradition. On the other hand when there was a war women, especially those from Germanic tribes, were not allowed to fight. They could only support and help the warriors. (Ennen, 2001) We can meet both of the facts when analysing Igraine since she advised her first husband the Duke of Tintagel to leave the meeting with Uther because Uther started to be interested in her. The Duke followed her wish although Uther was the king. The fact that women were not involved in wars can be seen in the Duke’s decision to leave Igraine at Tintagel during the war with Uther. And where can the reader find Igraine’s support and help? When Uther came to Tintagel he looked like the Duke. Igraine had a sex with him – it can be considered as a kind of support since the Duke was fighting and his wife was left alone in a castle. The Lady of the Lake is another example of a woman that helps men but is not directly involved in any kind of war. She offers Arthur a sword – a means of weapon – but never fights. Women living in the middle ages are connected with knights that were an important part of medieval society. They were not only protecting their lords but were actively participating in public life. How? They were educated in order to know how to sing and to compose poetry. The goal of this knowledge was to entertain and enchant women. In their verses knights were worshipping ladies and were expressing their love towards certain ones. Unhappily for the knights these women were very often married. (Ennen, 2001) Nevertheless, knights were showing their respect towards women not only in private but publicly as well, mainly during tournaments. One of the distinguishing features during such events was the colour of plumes of feathers at the top of knights’ helmets. Knights were choosing these colours according

50 to the colours of women they adored. They kept the flower or scarf they were given by ladies after the tournaments. (Petráňová, 2005) The education of knights and the way they behaved is reflected in Lancelot’s behaviour towards Guinevere. He loves her and is willing to protect her at any circumstances. He even risks his own life. On the contrary Lady Bertilak represents a woman that values her knight, in this case Gawain. She gives him a girdle that he is to keep so that the girdle can save his life in a battle. Knights and noble ladies were living in a castle. Ladies and their retinue used to have their own private chambers. (Ostrovská; Polišenský, 2000) Since ladies have been called as members of the gentle sex the walls of these chambers were covered with timber so that heat could not escape so easily – another evidence of men’s polite behaviour (Petráňová, 2005) Guinevere had her private chambers at the Camelot into which Lancelot used to go in order to visit her. Since not many people were allowed to enter ladies’ private chambers these rooms were considered as a save place for secret meetings. The last fact to be mentioned here is the relation between women and religion. Women used to join the convent usually after the death of their husbands or when they thought that they managed to do everything they were supposed to do. (Ennen, 2001) After the death of Arthur Guinevere joined a convent since her role as the queen came to an end. She also blamed herself for causing Arthur’s death and death of many good knights.

51 7. Conclusion

We do not know if Malory knew the early medieval law or tradition but it is obvious that his book is based on the reality which means that it is not a made-up novel. What we do not know for sure is the fact whether the characters are real or not and that is why the book could be treated as a book describing the medieval reality but with rather mystical characters because we can prove that for example Arthur really lived. When studying the materials the author came to conclusion that women played many significant roles. In the books women are not only mothers and wives that are obeying wishes of the men. They are also manipulating their husbands, trying to influence their political opinions or even trying to kill Arthur. There are several women that were quite well educated and then acted as witches – Morgan and Nineve are the best examples. These two female characters are probably the strongest female characters in the legends of King Arthur because the first one was trying to kill Arthur as mentioned above and the second one, Nineve, was very cunning since she managed to set a trap for Merlin and successfully imprison him in a cave. Her behaviour may suggest that she was selfish or heartless but on the other hand she proved she was able to take care of herself without relying on the help of the others. Both Nineve and Morgan were educated as it was mentioned. What does it mean? It means that women in those times could attend a school. In the Middle Ages not all the women were allowed to attend a school because they were seen as mothers that should stay at home, cook and take care of the children. So these two ladies can represent an effort of later activists that were trying to enable women to educate themselves. There is one interesting point connected to the present times – women desperately falling in love with men. What we can experience today when reading books about relationships is the fact that women want to find an ideal man. And that probably why women like Guinevere fell in love with Lancelot since he was considered to be an ideal knight – a good lover that is very handsome, strong and that is taking care of his female companions. Nowadays women are almost the same. Finally it should be said that the legends of King Arthur can serve not only for those that are interested in history and literature but for those working on the field of gender studies too since they want men and women to be equal. In the legends such

52 people can find examples of women being equal to men (for example Nineve and Merlin because Nineve managed to reach the same level of education as Merlin). One can see that women are really equal to men.

53 8. Summary

This bachelor thesis tries to analyse and explain the role of women in Arthurian legends with a focus on two main sources: L’Morte d’Arthur and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The reason why the thesis is aimed at these two literary works is that the books represent the core of the English literature and are the basic study material for those interested in Arthurian legends. The thesis not only analyses but compares as well. The Arthurian women are compared to real female characters like queens.

54 9. Resumé

Tato bakalářská práce se pokouší analyzovat a objasnit roli žen z legend o králi Artušovi se zvláštním důrazem na dva literární zdroje: Artušova smrt a Sir Gawain a Zelený rytíř. Důvodem, proč se tato práce zaměřila zrovna na tyto dvě knihy je, že představují základ anglické literatury a primární studijní materiál pro ty, co se legendami o Artušovi zabývají. Práce nejenom analyzuje, ale také srovnává postavy z legend se skutečnými historickými osobnostmi.

55 10. List of References

BATEY E, Colleen. Tintagel Castle. London: English Heritage, 2010. 40 s. ISBN 978- 1-848020-13-9. Bible: Písmo Svaté Starého a Nového zákona. Ekumenický překlad. Praha: Ústřední církevní nakladatelství, 1979. COX, Simon; OXBROW, Mark. Král Artuš a Svatý Grál. 1.vydání. Praha : Knižní klub, 2009. 256 s. ISBN 978-80-242-2482-4. DUNNING, Robert. King Arthur. Wellington : PiXZ Books, 2010. 64 s. ISBN 978-1- 906887-98-8. ENNEN, Edith. Ženy ve středověku. Praha: Argo, 2001. 338 s. ISBN 8072033697. FALKUS, Malcolm; GILLINGHAM, John. Historical atlas of Britain. London: Kingfisher Books, 1987. 224 s. ISBN 0862722942. FILIPOVÁ, Eva. Společenská nápověda. Praha: Pragma, 2008. 90 s. ISBN 80-7301- 122-0. GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH. Dějiny britských králů. Praha: Argo, 2010. 253 s. ISBN 978-80-257-0289-5. GOETZ, Hans-Werner. Život ve středověku. Jinočany: H&H, 2005. 454 s. ISBN 8073190257. GRANT, Michael. Kleopatra: královna egyptská. Praha: BB Art, 2011. 311 s. ISBN 978-80-7381-968-2. HAMANNOVÁ, Brigitte. Habsburkové: životopisná encyklopedie. 1.vydání. Praha: Brána, 2010. 408 s. ISBN 978-80-7243-455-8. HILL, Graham. Moderní psychologie: hlavní oblasti současného studia lidské psychiky. Praha: Portál, 2004. 282 s. ISBN 80-7178-641-1. JANUSOVÁ, Jana; KÁŇA, Otakar. Její veličenstvo Marie Terezie. 1. vydání. Praha: Mladá fronta , 1987. 174 s. LURKER, Manfred. Slovník biblických obrazů a symbolů. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1999. 365 s. ISBN 8070212543. MALORY, Thomas. Le morte d’Arthur: King Arthur and the legends of the Round Table. London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1962. 512 s. McDOWALL, David. An illustrated history of Britain. Harlow: Longman, 1989. 188 s. ISBN 9780582749146.

56 MYSLIKOVJANOVÁ, Ida. O nevěře trochu jinak. Olomouc: Anag, 2011. 208 s. ISBN 978-80-7263-705-8. OSTROVSKÁ, Sylivia; POLIŠENSKÝ, Josef. Velké a male ženy v dějinách lidstva. Praha: Jan Krigl, 2000. 241 s. ISBN 8090204554. OTOVÁ, Berta. Lékařská biologie a genetika 1.díl. Praha: Karlova univerzita, 2008. 123 s. ISBN 978-80-246-1594-3. PETRÁŇOVÁ, Lydia. Průvodce všedním životem ve středověku. Úvaly: Albra, 2005. 84 s. ISBN 80-7361-003-5. RAVENSCROFT, Trevor. Kopí osudu: skrytá moc Longinova kopí, jímž byl probodnut Ježíšův bok a které měnilo běh světa. Praha: Eminent, 2003. 327 s. ISBN 80-7281-137-1. RICHARDS, Julian. Stonehenge. London: English Heritage, 2011. 48s. ISBN 978-1- 84802-113-6. STONE, Brian. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Harmondsworth : Penguin Books, 1974. 185 s. ŠMAHELOVÁ, Bohumíra. Nástin vývoje pedagogického myšlení. Brno: MSD, 2008. 98 s. ISBN 978-80-7392-040-1. ŠPAČEK, Ladislav. Velká kniha etikety. Praha: Mladá fronta, 2005. 164 s. ISBN 9788020419545. ŠVEC, Luboš. Dějiny pobaltských zemí. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2001. 423 s. ISBN 80-7106-154-9. TREVELYAN, George Macaulay. A shortened history of England. Harmondsworth : Penguin Books, 1987. 603 s. VLČKOVÁ, Jitka. Encyklopedie keltské mytologie. Praha: Libri, 2002. 323 s. ISBN 80-7277-066-7. WEISS, Petr; ZVĚŘINA, Jaroslav. Sexuální chování v ČR – situace a trendy. Praha: Portál, 2001. 159 s. ISBN 80-7178-558-X. WHITE, Paul. Guinvere, the Grail and all that. Launceston: Bossiney Books, 2005. 32 s. ISBN 1-899383-74-3. ZVĚŘINA, Jaroslav. Sexuologie nejen pro lékaře. Brno: CERM, 2003. 287 s. ISBN 80-7204-264-5.

57 Online resources

DANDA, Oldřich. V Česku ubývá věřících, stát však platí stále více farářů. Novinky.cz [online]. © 2003–2012 úterý 10. dubna 2012, 4:02. [cit. 2012-11-05]. Dostupné z: http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/264311-v-cesku-ubyva-vericich-stat-vsak-plati-stale- vice-fararu.html BRENNAN, Ian G. The Most Noble Order of the Garter. Heraldicsculptor.com [online]. © 2012. [cit. 2012-11-05]. Dostupné z: http://www.heraldicsculptor.com/Garters.html KINSEY, Alfred. Alfred Kinsey's 1948 and 1953 Studies – Extramarital Sex. kinseyinstitute.org [online]. © 1996- 2012 [cit. 2012-11-05]. Dostupné z: http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-data.html#extramaritalcoitus REINER, Tomáš. Benedikt XVI. Novinky.cz [online]. © 2003–2012 [cit. 2012-11-05]. Dostupné z: http://tema.novinky.cz/benedikt-xvi

TV documents

Středověk, epizoda 3 Statečnost a dvorská láska. Turnaje, Rytíři a Dámy. Česká televize. ČT 2. 16.04.2012.

58 11. Appendix

Picture 1: Stonehenge

Pic.2: Arthur’s hall in the village of Tintagel

59

Pic.3: Ruins of the Tintagel castle and fortress

Pic.4: Ruins of Earl Richard’s castle

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Pic.5: The remains of houses from the Dark Age (Tintagel)

Pic.6: A guidepost dealing with the description of a medieval courtyard

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Pic.7: Information about Earl Richard

Pic.8: There are more guideposts at Tintagel

62